Thursday, May 03, 2012

So Long, Open Division

Tomorrow I turn the big four-oh. Hello, Masters Division. Masters... such a regal term. The word invokes a sense of wisdom and nobility. In reality, it's just a sugarcoated title that means you're getting older and slower. I look forward to racing in the same division as many 50-something and even some 60-something year olds who will still kick my arse in races.

Did a short trail run today, this time from home rather than work. I tried to hit the woods out back, but on the fire road several large tractors and trucks were blocking the way. I ran up next to a guy in a hard hat and asked if I could cross through.

"Bridge is out," he said.
"Oh."
"Yep, we had to replace it."
Funny, it looked very sturdy to me the past several times I ran over it.
"I guess the water level is still pretty high, huh?"
"Yep, we tried to find a place to cross but couldn't", he said with a hearty chuckle. I'm sure I could have still waded across, but opted against it.
"Oh well, I'll just run another way."
"Sorry about the bridge, we should have it ready in four to five weeks."
"Four to five weeks?! That long?!"
"Yep, have to rebuild it from scratch."
Sigh...

No big deal, I know of a few other ways to to reconnect to some of my established routes back there. But for today, I just explored some other trails that I knew where they probably went but hadn't traveled on them before. My instincts proved right.

Legs felt great. Very fresh and spry. Glad they absorbed the tempo run from the other day. Probably will run around 10K tomorrow but throw in a session of strides. Looking forward to some longer stuff over the weekend.